The Sebir That Bred Liquid Paper
Around 1950, an American typist and commercial artist Bette Nesmith Graham was frustrated by her inability to erase mistakes made while she was using her electric typewriter. She began to reflect that artists simply painted over mistakes they made on their canvas
Goal
Improve the ease of correcting typing mistakes
Problem
Text typed in ink was not easy to remove or correct
Sebir
The ease of correcting mistakes was transformed through developing a paper-colored liquid that could 'paint over' typing mistakes Typing errors disappeared because the liquid 'paint' concealed them, enabling them to be then typed over
Historic Impact
Paying attention to everyday working problems can be the trigger for an innovative solution. In 1956, Bette Nesmith Graham started the 'Mistake out Company' that later became 'Liquid Paper'
Breeding Comment
Drawing a broader parallel from a specific observation or experience and then visualizing a narrower application in a quite different setting is the secret behind idea breeding. Bette Nesmith Graham associated more broadly from the capability of artists to paint over their mistakes and, in so doing, was able to breed a paper-colored paint-on liquid that typists could use to paint over their mistakes